CONTENTS

TEACHING AND LEARNING
Jasmina Šefer, Ph.D., Slavica Ševkušić, M.A.:
To think in time and space: suggestions for curricular changes in the academic subject - society
Radovan Antonijević, Ph.D.:
Student attainment research areas: TIMSS 2007 and PISA 2006
Djurdjica Komlenović, Ph.D.:
Organization of compulsory education and teaching of geography in Japan
Sandra Davidović, Nada Škundrić:
Self-evaluation: planning and preparations for teaching

TEACHING PERSONNEL
Vera Rajović, Ph.D., Lidija Radulović, Ph.D.:
How teachers percieve their initial training: how they acquired knowledge and developed
competencies

CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
Mirjana Japundža-Milisavljević, Ph.D.:
Executive functions and attainement of children with mild mental retardation
Špela Golubović, Ph.D.:
Learning and behavioural difficulties: recognition and understanding

PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATION
Emina Kopas-Vukašinović, Ph.D.:
Through play to knowledge of preschool child

DISTANCE EDUCATION
Mirajana Radović-Marković, Ph.D.:
E-learning system characteristics and perspectives for its development and application in high education

EDUCATION FOR DEVELOPMENT
Refik Šećibović, Ph.D., Emilija Manić, M.A.:
Education for sustainable development in tourism

Jasmina Šefer, Ph.D., Slavica Ševkušić, M.A.
Institut za pedagoška istraživanja
Beograd 

TO THINK IN TIME AND SPACE: SUGGESTIONS FOR CURRICULAR CHANGES IN THE ACADEMIC
SUBJECT – SOCIETY

In the curriculum of the academic subject Society, which starts with MiddleAges, noticable is the lack of logically and historically justified beginning (Prehistory and Ancient Times) as well as the continuation (Modern times) of historical events. The rationale for this is that it is assumed that children are not mature enough to deal with the historical development of human society since it implies a higher level of concept formation and abstract reasoning. The experiences from a number of action researches, in which the in-class group-research method was applied to study medieval Serbia, indicate to the students’ spontaneous need to systematize the material at a concrete level and illustrate it through different media, as well as to establish temporal/ spatial dimensions of an event, i.e. to percieve a phenomenon through its genesis in time and geo-cultural context. The idea that a child should start learning about the world by studying its own environment first is only partially justified. This paper suggests that: 1) the framework of the contents of the subject Society should include a «big picture», i.e. a summary of the history of society with examples from the whole world and from our past; 2) a thematically- interdisciplinary approach should be applied in in-class group-research work in lesson elaboration.

Keywords: teaching, Society, group-research work, thematically-interdisciplinary approach.

CONTENTS

Radovan Antonijević, Ph.D.
Institut za pedagoška istraživanja
Beograd

STUDENT ATTAINMENT RESEARCH AREAS: TIMSS 2007 AND PISA 2006

The paper presents two areas of international research of students’ attainments: TIMSS 2007 and PISA 2006. The attainments of primary school students in the international research TIMSS 2007 are related to attainments in mathematics and natural sciences in the fourth and eighth grades of primary school. Special attention was paid to examining the structures of cognitive domain and the domain of content within mathematics and natural sciences. Mathematics was divided into four domains of the content: 1) numbers, 2) algebra, 3) geometry, and 4) data and probability. In natural sciences the following content domains were analysed: 1) physics, 2) chemistry, 3) biology, and 4) geography. Also, both in mathematics and in natural sciences examined were the degrees of the development of the students’ abilities and skills within three cognitive domains: 1) knowledge, 2) application of knowledge, and 3) reasoning. The international research PISA 2006 examined the attainments in 1) mathematics, 2) understanding of textual contents, and 3) natural sciences. One of primary intentions of this research was to try to evaluate the efficiency of the educational system in relation to educational outcomes, and to estimate the degree to which the students in primary education are prepared for the continuation of their education and for the world of adults and work. The sample comprised 15 years old students who, in the majority of countries, are students of the eighth/ninth grade of primary school or the first grade of secondary school.

Keywords: TIMSS 2007, PISA 2006, research domain, cognitive domain, content domain.

CONTENTS

Djurdjica Komlenović, Ph.D.
Institut za pedagoška istraživanja
Beograd

ORGANIZATION OF COMPULSORY EDUCATION AND TEACHING OF
GEOGRAPHY IN JAPAN

The paper discusses the organization of compulsory education in Japan  and the position of the Geography curriculum within it. By the end of the last century, in accordance with modern social and technological changes, significant novelties were introduced into the educational system in Japan. The Ministry of Education issued the curriculum for the nine-year compulsory education which is divided into two levels. The first level is primary school (Shogakko) which lasts for six years, and the second level is junior secondary school (Chugakko) which lasts three years. The academic year starts in April, finishes in March, and contains 240 schooldays distributed on five workdays in a week. The curriculum comprises compulsory individual teaching subjects and teaching areas and optional subjects with the defined annual and weekly fond of hours for each. Geography is studied at two levels within the compulsory area of Social Sciences, first in the fourth and fifth year and later in the seventh and eighth year. The Geography curriculum is conceptualised thematically, the focus is on the development of skills, attitudes and values. The knowledge which is prescribed by the study courses is fragmentary and not systematized. In the structure of the curriculum the exemplification approach dominates and focuses on great global differences, natural and human phenomena on the surface of the Earth. The curriculum poses great challenges to Geography teachers since their professional and didactic competencies cannot meet these new requirements. The Government of Japan devotes much effort to solve the problems brought by the reform quickly and efficiently, in order to fulfil the declared educational aims.

Keywords: compulsory education, Geography, Japan.

CONTENTS

Sandra Davidović, Nada Škundrić
IV gimnazija u Beogradu
Beograd

SELF-EVALUATION: PLANNING AND PREPARATIONS FOR TEACHING

Self-evaluation is a procedure by which the teacher’s own work and its results  can be evaluated, with the aim to enhance the quality of work in school. In our research, we offered the participating teachers an instrument taken from “Self-evaluation and Evaluation of School Work”. Teachers’ attitudes towards two essential indicators refer to the importance and exactness (degree) of a statement as an indicator of the process of planning/preparation for teaching. We estimated individual aspects of planning and preparation in a number of situations of usual practice, which were used as items in the offered instrument, and which we regard as indicators of the teacher’s planning and preparing for the teaching process. Although communication between the teachers in the process of planning/preparations was found satisfactory, the obtained results show that it could be improved especially in the planning segment, in order to improve the temporal and content-wise correlation between different academic subjects. Better planning and preparation of lessons will, undoubtedly, enhance students’ attainments, and bring greater satisfaction to their teachers from the achieved results of their work.

Keywords: self-evaluation in teaching process, planning, lesson preparation, teacher’s self-evaluation..

CONTENTS

Vera Rajović, Ph.D., Lidija Radulović, Ph.D.
Centar za PPM obrazovanje nastavnika,
Filozofski fakultet
Beograd

HOW TEACHERS PERCIEVE THEIR INITIAL TRAINING: HOW THEY ACQUIRED KNOWLEDGE AND DEVELOPED COMPETENCIES

The paper presents a research on how teachers, from the viewpoint of their  practice, perceive the role of their undergraduate studies in relation to other sources of knowledge and professional competencies. The context of the research includes the participation of the Centre for Pedagogical, Psychological and Methodological Education of students and in-service teacher training in the process of high education reform in Serbia. The research issues included: the complexity of the teacher’s roles and competencies; today’s achievements in science regarding teaching, the teacher, and teacher training; and the European Commission Referential Framework for Teacher Training Standards. The research was conducted on a sample of 175 teachers of History and Latin in secondary schools in Serbia. The results were analysed from the viewpoint of: modern concept of teacher training, organization and structure of teacher training, the need for setting the standards at the university level and school practice, the reform and the continuous development of teacher training.

CONTENTS

Mirjana Japundža-Milisavljević, Ph.D.
Fakultet za specijalnu edukaciju i rehabilitaciju
Beograd

EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS AND ATTAINEMENT OF CHILDREN WITH MILD MENTAL RETARDATION

The main aim of this specially conceptualized research was to measure  the quality of the development of executive functions in children with mild mental retardation (MMR) and to determine the levels of their attainment in Mathematics and Art. The next level of estimation involved estimating the interrelatedness of the executive functions and attainment in these academic subjects. A hundred and twenty four respondents with MMR, aged 8-16, were tested by the Twenty-Item Test for Executive Functions. The attainment in academic subjects was tested by the LAP test. The research revealed a high percentage of the respondents failing at the test for estimating higher cognitive functions. The children in the sample successfully fulfilled the tasks in Art – but not in Mathematics. The correlative analysis of executive functions and attainment indicates to a statistically significant interrelatedness. The obtained results stress the need for a more detailed oligophrenic treatment which would insist more on the development of executive functions of children with MMR.

Keywords: executive functions, Mathematics, Art, mild mental retardation

CONTENTS

Špela Golubović, Ph.D.
Pedagoški fakultet
Sombor

LEARNING AND BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES: RECOGNITION AND
UNDERSTANDING

Children who experience a disharmony in cognitive socio-educational and  emotional maturation and functioning can have difficulties in acquisition of the educational contents, in adaptation and functioning in social environment, i.e. psycho-social disorders. Such difficulties are frequently misunderstood and ascribed to maladaptive behaviour, mental insufficiency, or neglect in upbringing by caretakers. The aim of the paper is to point out the manifest indicators of specific/nonverbal learning difficulties to those responsible for upbringing and/or education of the child who are the first to encounter the fact that a child does not respond to requirements the same as the majority of his peers do, or has difficulties in progressing and/or learning. Another aim is to highlight the importance of cooperation and engagement of a team of experts of different profiles who will, by adequate intervention and strategic work with children and consultative work with teachers and educators, do their best to solve the (recognized) problem.

CONTENTS

Emina Kopas-Vukašinović, Ph.D.
Institut za pedagoška istraživanja
Beograd

THROUGH PLAY TO KNOWLEDGE OF PRESCHOOL CHILD

Bearing in mind the educational character of play as a basic activity of the preschool child, the paper discusses the role of play in the process of internalization of the child’s practical actions. Starting with the specifities of learning through play, presented is a structured didactic material which was offered to children of the oldest preschool age and was used in the activities designed for learning about environment. The presented results were obtained by observing children at play. In order to establish how much children are interested in learning by the use of structured material, we offered them a selection of toys, which we had assumed to influence significantly the quality and effects of educational activities. The collected data confirmed exceptional receptiveness of children to the offered didactic material, and are the basis for further research on the quality of educational activities, which may include both preschool and junior school children.

Keywords: educational activities, didactic games, preschool age.

CONTENTS

Mirajana Radović-Marković, Ph.D.
Institut ekonomskih nauka
Beograd

E-LEARNING SYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS AND PERSPECTIVES FOR ITS DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION IN HIGH EDUCATION

Education Via the Internet is very soon going to become a dominant form of education in the world. Much effort is being made to advance its modes of work and teacher/student communication in order to enhance the quality of learning. Of course, further development of virtual education in the future will depend upon the advancement of modern technologies and the Internet. Bearing this in mind, the author tried to examine the levels of achievements in this sphere, to classify different modes of acquisition of knowledge, and to determine the advantages and disadvantages of this type of learning. Especially highlighted is its high level of usefulness for the economies of highly developed countries where a huge progress has been made in the development and expansion of the network of virtual universities. Author supports this statement by stating that “the Internet education is becoming one of the most profitable businesses in the world”. Further, the author pays special attention to the target groups of learners for whom this type of education is primarily intended. In accordance with these considerations the author concludes that the “e-learning is intended for all age groups of population and in it lies its fundamental advantage, since classical forms of education exclude people of mature age”. Another conclusion is that one of the most important prerequisites of a successful implementation of e-learning is the need to examine all pedagogic aspects of this type of learning. It is the duty of teachers and instructors to follow the students’ needs, to present the aims of a course and to provide adequate teaching materials in order to facilitate the realization of the set study tasks and aims.

Keywords:  internet, virtual education, new modes of studying, educational programmes, e-learning process.

CONTENTS

Refik Šećibović, Ph.D.
Fakultet za ekonomiju, finansije i administraciju
Univerzitet Singidunum, Beograd
Emilija Manić, M.A.
Ekonomski fakultet
Beograd

EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN TOURISM

Sustainable development is not a completely novel or unknown concept when society and economy are discussed. There is hardly a country in the world which has not included the concept of sustainability in its economic strategy, stressing by it the need that both individuals and society should develop a responsible attitude towards their environment. If a responsible attitude towards tourist resources, which are the basis and the motive for all tourist travels, were not encouraged, then, under the “surge” of mass tourist visits, the very thing on which tourism is based would be destroyed. Education is one of basic instruments for implementation of sustainable development in tourism, which includes education of the cadres to work in tourist industry, education of tourists, and education of domicile inhabitants who accept tourists. If a curriculum of education for tourism is to contribute to the development of tourism in a sustainable way, meaning that wider community will benefit from it, then the individuals in that community should be in position to select what is essential for such a curriculum. The aim of this paper is to analyse the local context within which the tourism curriculum should be devised, and to examine the role of key actors in decision making related to the curriculum.

Keywords: sustainable development, sustainable tourism, formal and informal education, curriculum.

CONTENTS

SERBIAN